~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

these are the tears i've been crying my whole life
like an ocean of desire
i'm reaching thru the noise
across the dusk of time
within the lilting lies
i am singing out to you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smashing Pumpkins
Title: Mysterious Time
Chapter 5
Author: nat-chan
Genre: Romance/Alt. Reality
Disclaimer: standard
E-mail: natia_99@yahoo.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Darien stood stalk still. The forest wind whispered listlessly,
but his every feature remained frozen....

He had two handfuls of his sketches, standing once again
before the spot....the last place he remembered being before
he woke that morning....forever changed.....with a baby....

He stared into the blackness of the forest, it always seemed
darkest in this place.

The wind picked up and he let the sketches go, blowing in all
directions....

Then tears welled up in his eyes, he fell to his knees before
the darkness and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't understand. I can't remember..."

What he could not know...was how just beyond the sacred gateway
she was watching....as she always did...crying softly...longing
to reach out to him....sooth what she had wrought...

But she was forbidden.

But watching him now, she could bear it no longer. She shut her
eyes and focused and one of the sketches blew back and landed
before him. It was a moment before he noticed and then started.

He reached trembling fingers to clasp it. It had changed.
The sketch was of the same woman....standing in a long dress,
holding a baby.

She gazed mournfully out at him.

He stood slowly, frozen in staring at it.

Then his face changed, he gazed with sudden hope into the blackness.

"I know you're real!" He cried, "I can feel it! Wherever you are,
I dream of you...."

And on the other side she shut her eyes, savoring the sound of his
voice....for it had been twelve years since he had spoken to her....

He looked back down at the sketch and watched the silvery lines spill
into sparkle and disappaer in a flutter back through the darkness.

He looked into the blackness a long moment, and they gazed
at one another....somehow seeing...

Then he turned and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
*
*

Rini came through the park on her way home....now eager to seek out the same
flash of light and whispery voice she had heard. She wondered if
it was her mother somehow speaking to her.

She hurried to the woods and stepped in, found the spot from before. And just like
before the flash of light blinked around in several places. Then the voice
whispered,
"Fly....fly....you were made to....you were meant to....."

She shut her eyes and let herself believe for one moment that she could, when
she opened them she was. She rose gently and barely dispelled the leaves till
she was lingering in the tree tops. And everytime she spotted a shadow or a beam
of light, she was there, instantly. It was glorious.

She lost all track of time and only when it became dusky did she realize her folly.

"Oh no! Papa! He'll be so worried!"

She sank to the ground, grabbed her bag and made to run off when he came through the
trees calling her name.

"Papa!" She cried and he broke into a run for her.

"Rini, sweetie, I was so worried!" He clutched her desperately, "You mustn't
stay this late in the forest again!"

"I know Papa, I'm sorry. But wait until you see what I can do! I think Mama is teaching
me somehow."

He froze at her words and she scurried out of his arms and into the circlet of trees
that formed the clearing he had been in just hours before.

He watched her shut her eyes and then lift off the ground, raising to the tree tops
and darting with childish laughter from moon beam to moon beam.

He watched another flash of light darting about with her--could barely hear a whispery
voice....but it was a boys...not a girls....

"Rini...?" Was all he managed, stepping towards her.

A sudden flash of lightening and the churning of the sky unnaturally interupted them.
Rini landed swiftly and rushed to him, "Papa!" She cried in panic over the suddenly
deafening roar of God only knew what, "What's happening?"

"I don't know!" He cried, clutching her tight.

The dark spot suddenly shot out light and engulfed them, pulling them in against
their will.

They vanished and only darkness and silence remained in the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

not a bad cliff hanger if I do say so myself, *haughty blow across fingertips*
*dodges tomatoes from readers*

What? What did I say? ^^